Courage and Expectations
by The Golden Phoenix Song
Summary: '...He would do everything in his power to become the wizard his parents would want him to be.' Mad-Eye Moody and Neville speak about Neville's parents, courage and expectations.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be a fifteen-year-old high school student and amateur writer. I would be a multi-millionaire by the name of JK Rowling.**

**A/N: I'm back with another oneshot! This one has been on my mind for weeks, but I never thought I would be able to get it down on paper. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy. As always, please read and review and tell me what you think. I don't mind whether you tell me you love it and it's brilliant or it's horrible and you hate it, as long as you tell me **_**why**_**. : )**

Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody (the real one) was enraged. Had he just been told by Minerva McGonagall that the blasted impostor had shown the fourth-year Gryffindors the _Unforgivable Curses_? And what's more, forced a student to watch a living thing being tortured the same way his parents had been tortured to the point of insanity? Maybe he really _was _going mad. He hoped so.

Moody limped his way up to the entrance to the Hospital Wing, where, he had been told, he would find Harry Potter and his friends. Sure enough, swivelling his magical eye, which had been retrieved from the scumbag, he saw four of the Weasley children, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom surrounding Harry's hospital bed.

As they heard Moody's approach, all of the students turned sharply. 'Hello, Professor,' said Harry tiredly.

'I wouldn't say that, Potter. Haven't exactly been in a state to do much teaching, have I?' said Moody bluntly. 'Anyway, I'm not here for pleasantries.' Moody pointed a gnarled hand at Neville, whose eyes promptly widened. Was that a flicker of fear Moody saw? 'You, boy, come with me.'

Neville stood up, fists clenched, jaw set. 'How do I know you're the real Moody? You were impersonated by a Death Eater for the entire year, you know.'

'Yes, I'm quite aware of that, Longbottom,' Moody growled in response. 'I did spend the time trapped in my own trunk under the Imperius Curse, didn't I? In case you're wondering, I have no plans to torture you like that scum did to your parents, a pair of the best Aurors the Ministry's ever seen.'

'You – you knew my parents?'

Moody nodded curtly. 'Yes, I did.'

'Oh,' was the younger wizard's response. He looked around at his friends. 'I'll be back,' he said softly.

Everyone nodded, save for Hermione, who still looked apprehensive. 'Are you sure?'

Her friends looked stricken. 'Hermione!' Ginny exclaimed in shock.

Moody shook his head. 'She's right to be suspicious. These days, constant vigilance is key. But again, I have no reason to harm Neville.'

'Well, okay, then,' Hermione said reluctantly. 'You know where to find us if you need us, Neville.'

Neville nodded in response.

With that, the two wizards turned, leaving the hospital wing.

The rest of the walk to Moody's office was spent in heavy silence. Neville awkwardly looked in any direction but Moody's, while, in stark contrast, the other wizard surveyed Neville closely.

All too soon, they reached the large wooden door which was the entrance to Moody's quarters. Moody ushered Neville in with a gnarled hand, closing the door behind him.

'Have a seat,' said Moody, gesturing to an old wooden chair by his desk. Neville did so, looking around at the strange objects and apparatus which Moody kept in his office.

'That's a Secrecy Sensor,' explained Moody, seeing Neville looking curiously at an objet that looked like an aerial which was bent severely out of shape. 'Not that it was much use to me.'

Neville looked at Moody, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

'Well, it didn't stop me from being captured then impersonated by that scum, did it?' Moody growled. Neville said nothing.

Quite abruptly, Moody stood up, limping over to a chest of drawers, in which he rummaged for a minute, appearing to be searching for something. He pulled out an old, tatty photograph and handed it to Neville.

Neville's eyes widened as he looked at the picture of a thin, dark-haired wizard with his arm wrapped around a pretty witch with a kind, round face. Both were smiling and waving happily up at him. 'My – '

Moody nodded. 'Yes, your parents. Two of the most brilliant Aurors to come through the department.'

Neville's eyes darkened. 'Before they were tortured to inanity by the Lestranges and Crouch.'

Moody grasped Neville's shoulder firmly for a moment. 'They were very brave. Everyone else's safety always came before their own. They had heard that four Death Eaters were on the loose and they wanted to take them down. They ran off without telling anyone. By the time we got there, it was too late. The scum had Disapparated, leaving Frank and Alice unconscious. They were too cowardly to face us. Bloody Death Eaters!'

Neville looked Moody directly in the eye, eyes filled with fiery determination. 'I'll get them for this,' he said. 'They'll pay for what they did to my parents. I won't stop until Mum and Dad have been avenged.'

Moody nodded in approval. 'You'd make an excellent Auror, Neville. Your parents would be proud.'

Neville shook his head, suddenly becoming shy again. 'No, they wouldn't. My gran says I bring shame to them.'

'Augusta Longbottom is an old crackpot. I don't think resolve like that would bring shame on anyone.' He paused for a moment before continuing. 'Listen, boy. Courage is not something anyone is born with. It'll come in time. In experience.

'No-one expects you to be a master wizard before you're fifteen. You need to learn, first. Experience life for what it is. Have confidence in your own abilities. McGonagall says you have quite the aptitude for Transfiguration, but you just need _confidence_.'

Neville looked at his feet. 'Thanks, Professor Moody,' he said quietly. 'I'll keep that in mind.'

Moody stood up. 'Well, you better get back to your friends, then,' he said, with a small smile. 'Don't want them thinking I've cursed you and shoved you in my trunk.'

The younger wizard nodded. 'See you, then.'

Neville left Moody's office, his head held a little bit higher, his stride a little bit more purposeful. He would get revenge on those Death Eaters, he promised himself. But before that day would come, he would do everything in his power to become the wizard his parents would want him to be.


End file.
